Chinese Culture comes alive at Trinidad's Dragon Boat Festival

In search of entertainment hundreds gathered at the newly refurbished Anchorage in Chaguaramas on Sunday. The occasion was the Chinese Arrival Dragon Boat Festival 2010. The first race got underway around 10.30 am and with the final dose of team excitement scheduled to commence at 4.45 pm, the enjoyment began along Anchorage Bay, Chaguaramas. The Chinese culture, its authentic traditions, food and entertainment offered a great deal to patrons who entered free but paid for Chinese cuisine—a wealth of which was served up throughout the day. Hosted by the Chinese Bicentennial Committee, in conjunction with the T&T Dragon Boat Federation, the event marked the 204th anniversary of the Chinese arrival in T&T.
The area surrounding Anchorage was also alive, as patrons who’d chosen to remain on the outskirts also enjoyed the races from some 26 teams that participated. Among the teams in action were the Excellent Stores Titans, South East Sea Dragons, the MLIS Predators, Tidal Blitz and even secondary schools like Holy Name Convent, El Dorado West Secondary and St Francois Girls’ High School. Amid the boating action, entertainment provided by the Chinese Arts and Cultural Society proved a welcome addition throughout the day.
Among the entertainment lineup were displays of the Chinese Dragon dance and even one Chinese native who showed his eager audience that he could walk barefooted on broken shards of glass. Children who came along with their parents seemed to have enjoyed the constancy of the excitement as never was there a dull moment throughout.

Traditional Chinese music blared from time to time, offering locals a taste of what living in China would be like, complete with doses of musical entertainment. Races throughout the day yielded a wonderful outcome for the Holy Name Convent A Team, which placed first in the Girls Final; The Trinity One Ton Warriors which was also first in the Boys Final; the Royal Francois A, winner in the Mixed Final; PFBC Shockwave, winner of the Corporate C Division; GHL Oarstruck- also winner of the B Division of the Corporate competitors; and finally, the Aquaholics and Excellent Stores Titans which tied for first place in the Corporate Division A segment of the races. Drizzles in the afternoon did not disappoint as everything went ahead as planned, leaving most, if not all with high hopes for the next year’s festival.